Winning: The Psychology of Competition

by Stuart H. Walker

This book is designed to explain why winners win, why losers lose―and why everyone else finishes in the same position time after time. Addressing the competitor―whether in sailing, tennis, golf, baseball, or other sport―Stuart H. Walker demonstrates that what competition means to the competitor is the main determinant of success and failure, and that what it means to you can be turned to your advantage. Dr. Walker writes, “Competence leads to courage, creativity, and fun. Lack of understanding and lack of control lead to fear, depressions, and incompetence―and no fun. Competition is too good to waste.” For the paperback edition, Dr. Walker has written a new chapter, “Cheating,” in which he discusses why cheating seems to be on the increase, what it signifies, and what should be done about it.

272 pages, Paperback

First published November 27, 1980

Reviews

[Donn Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this book when I was at University, having came across it in a rather abandoned section of the library.

Last updated in 1986, it sometimes feels a little dated, especially the first quarter/half of the book where there's a lot of psychological theories being bounced about. I couldn't help shutting out the constant questioning in my mind whether or not the theories being espoused were still true or not.

However, as an athlete and sports fan what really appealed to me were the stories that were shared. There were so many parts of the book that I just thought absolutely brilliant, and I found myself going "ah, it makes sense now why I may have done this-and-that back when I was competing."

It made me question a lot of my motives, and also my actions and reactions in work and sport.

Note that many of the examples used by the author, a competitive sailor, are based on sailing, and may be lost on non-sailing fans (like me), so if you do want to read this book be prepared for a little bit of Google and Wikipedia to get what he's talking about.